Doing chicken for the first time

[den60]

After a couple of times with pork spare ribs on my new WSM I have decided to try some Chicken for the 4th. I have Jeff's book but I do question the pecan and mesquite wood for the smoke. I was thinking cherry and apple. I want to do two whole chickens and some quarters (if I can find them). If I can't find quarters I will probably do 4 chickens.

A question I have is if anybody glazes them or uses a sauce with them.

Any ideas would be most welcome.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Den, welcome to the SMF , hope you find it comfy here...

Be sure to be safe  in your meal preparation . Wash and dry the Bird well . Set it in the Refridgerator overnight to set up the Rub you put on it (be it S/P , a favorite Rub , or seasoning).

You can place Butter or Oil under the skin to help crisp it up ( seasoning the butter or Oil gives the Breast an extra shot of goodness...

Most of us cook our Chicken at 275° to 300° to insure the skin will not be rubbery and will be bite through , if not crispy.

Cook to an IMT of 170° in the Breast and legs . Check joints for a clear juice when opened , and that they move freely when wiggled .

Glazing and saucing is a personal decision , just remember : sugars in the sauce or glaze will blacken or burn easier when finishing. IMHO , I suggest cooking without the Glaze/Sauce and serve it on the side as a condiment . This gives a better presentation with good flavor .

As for wood , your choice of Cherry and Apple is great , they go well with Yardbird.

Have a great 4th and...

 

[joshrichards]

I'm new here and have a lot to learn myself.  But, I inject with butter and chicken broth to ensure my bird stays moist.  I tend to slightly overcook poultry just to make sure it gets done.

 

[bruno994]

For those of us who really like a moist, tender chicken, brine it for anywhere between 6 and 12 hours, then smoke it at 250 or so until IT reaches 180.  Juicy and tender.  If you are partial to crispy skin (and my family doesn't like the skin anyway) then you will need to crisp it in the oven or over some hot coals for a few minutes to get bite through skin after slow smoking.  I have tried injecting, for me it does not work near as well as brining.  That water, salt, sugar and seasoning blend really does some magic to your yardbird.  For the whole chickens, you can try beer can chicken or chicken broth in a can as well.  I usually take whole chickens and split them and cook them as halves.  They tend to cook a little more evenly and are also easier to brine this way.  2 halves of a 5# bird, fit well into a gallon ziplock with some brine. 

 

[den60]

I'm definitely going to brine them overnight. Maybe I will cut them in half as well. I do like the presentation of a whole bird though. I was thinking about taking them off the smoker and put them on the grill for about 15 minutes to crisp it. I was planning on cooking at about 250 so I have a decision to make on what to do there. When I did my ribs people really loved Jeff's Memphis Rub #1 though I left out the liquid smoke and cayenne. I think I'll make a batch of it and serve it on the side. My gf did pick me up an injector at Bed, Bath and Beyond so I think I will try to inject it as well.

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it. I've never been good at chicken but I never had a smoker before. I used to oven cook the chicken and then put it on the grill to glaze them. A buddy of mine will cook them from the start on the grill and just stand there turning them until they're done. Never could be that patient myself. We'll pick up the birds tonight and some Shock Top Ale (my new favorite).

 

[smokinhusker]

Brining is the only way I do all poultry now. I also like to spatch them, so they cook faster, then onto a hot grill and bbq sauce. 

 

[den60]

I did 3 whole chickens and 5 quarters. The guests we had over said it was the best chicken they'd ever had so that made me smile. Brined the chicken using Jeff's Poultry brine. I had to get up at 5:30 to brine the meat because I couldn't get it cooled down enough the night before. Next time I'm putting it in a cooler with a bunch of ice. Used Jeff's basic rub (salt, black pepper and garlic salt) and injected the whole chickens with Jeff's Mop Water. Used Cherry and Apple for the wood. After 1 hour I flipped the birds (had to say that) and started having trouble with the heat spiking. Up until then I was cooking at about 230. Temp went up to the 260-270 range and they were getting done too quickly. I closed all the vents to try to bring it down but I had to lift the lid a few times to let the heat off, our guests were not going to be there until 3:30. Because of the high heat I didn't get a chance to crisp the skin like I wanted to. The quarters were done in about 3 hours and the birds in about 3:15. After I took the quarters off I opened up the vents all the way to see if it would crisp the skin on the birds. Cooked until I got to 165. Made a sauce but chose not to use it because it was just fine without any other flavors. The breast was moist which was my biggest concern. All in all I am happy with my first chicken smoke. I'll post pictures when I get them sent to me.

GF made a blue cheese based potato salad which was really good ( a little goes a long way, it was very rich) as well as cornbread. I grilled some corn. For dessert her daughter made her apple pie. Her daughter also made a cream cheese based dip and guacamole for h'orderves. It was a good day.

 

[bruno994]

Sounds like a real smokin' success.  Next time you cook chix, try taking them to 180 IT in the breast, especially if you brine.  The difference in tenderness is amazing to me. 

 

[den60]

The next bird I do is going to be a turkey, another first for me.
 

 

[aaron m]

I too am very new to smoking. Could someone give me a brining recipe I could use the night before. Also, people are referring to removing the quarters. Does this mean removing the breasts and legs? Could use some more info on that...

 

[den60]

I used a variation on Jeff's Cajun Poultry Brine (left the Cajun out of it). 2 gallons water, 2 cups kosher salt, 3 cups sugar, 1/4 cup coarse black pepper 1 TBSP dried Rosemary leaves, 1 Tbsp dried thyme leaves, 1/4 cup molasses, 1/4 cup white wine, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce. Put the salt in the water and heat on medium low heat until dissolved. Then add the rest and simmer on low for 15 minutes. You have to get the brine down to 39 degrees before putting the bird in. I would suggest putting it in a cooler with ice for that. I also injected the whole birds with a butter, water and Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning mix. If you want a cold water brine you just don't add anything that needs to be simmered to get the flavor out of it.

As for the quarters I bought them already cut. To be honest, I thought the whole chickens turned out better than my quarters did.

I do highly recommend getting Jeff's book. Easy to read and follow and has some nice recipes in it.
 

 

[hokieman18]

When it comes to injecting the chicken how do you do it. Ie. how deep to go and how much to inject and where to inject